Recently I was reviewing my photographs from my Emperor Penguin expedition to Gould Bay in Antarctica last year (Read the Trip Report) and came across this image; which really captures for me the experience of what it was like to photograph these incredible animals on the remote sea ice at Gould Bay. This was our first evening out with the penguins and although we probably did not realise it at the time, we were extremely fortunate to have absolutely superb conditions with hours and hours of golden light and plenty of blowing snow.
I will be returning to Gould Bay in November 2018 for one final expedition to photograph the mighty Emperor Penguin and will have all of the final details for this expedition early January 2018. Due to the initial registrations of interest there are only two places remaining before the expedition will be sold out.
Category: News and Updates
JHolko Photography Latest News and Updates
New Zealand South Island Masterclass 2018 – Final Year
In late April / early May next year I will be running my final Masterclass workshop in the South Island of New Zealand for the foreseeable future. The workshop runs from the 30th of April until the 11th of May and is fully inclusive of all in country transport (private 4WD’s), food, helicopter flights (lots of them), tuition and more. Strictly limited to just six participants this masterclass is really designed to capture the best of the South Island. If you are interested in travelling to New Zealand and photographing in the spectacular South Island you can register you interest in one of the last available places by dropping me an email. Like the 2015, 2016 and 2017 workshops, the 2018 Masterclass workshop also includes extensive use of helicopters for accessing some of the most remote and spectacular country as well as aerial photography of the spectacular Southern Alps and glaciers. If you want to get an idea of the sort of photographs you can make on this masterclass be sure to check out the New Zealand portfolio on my website at www.jholko.com. Full details of the workshop are available on my website as a PDF HERE. You can read a trip report from the 2017 Masterclass HERE and client feedback HERE.
The South Island of New Zealand is home to some of the most spectacular scenery and landscapes in the world. Perhaps nowhere else in the world can one see and photograph precipitous mountains plunging into temperate rainforest and wild ocean beaches in so short a space. New Zealand is home to an unbelievably diverse range of subject matter, all packed together in a very small land area. Glaciers, majestic mountain ranges, moss-covered rain-forests, hidden valleys, and ocean-beaten coastlines are among the incredible array of natural wonders found there. It is an island of ever-changing weather and spectacular light conditions. To quote myself, it is a country made for photography.
Photo of the Month November 2017 : On Winters Cusp
The photograph of the month for November 2017 was taken on the second of two back-to-back expeditions to the East Coast of Greenland (read the trip report) in September and October this year. On the cusp of winter, the skies were heavily overcast and the sea was beginning to freeze in one of the many fjord systems we were exploring. I used the Canon 11-24mm F4L lens at 11mm and simply leant right over the side of the boat to get as low as possible. The aim with this sort of photograph is to try and lead the eye from the foreground ice to the distant icebergs and mountains. The key to making it work is to get as low as possible whilst still maintaining perspective and depth. 
MacPhun Pre-Order Luminar Neptune 2018 for Mac and Windows
MacPhun have just announced the new Luminar Neptune 2018 is now available for Pre-order for both Mac and Windows. Those of you who follow my blog or who have travelled and photographed with me in recent times know already that I am a huge fan of this time saving software.
About Luminar: Luminar 2018 offers everything a modern photographer needs for photo editing, including new filters powered by artificial intelligence, major speed improvements, a dedicated RAW develop module and a forthcoming in 2018; a digital asset management platform.
A Digital asset management platform is huge news for those users looking for an alternative to Adobe’s rather bloated Lightroom software and increasingly annoying subscription model.
Users will also benefit from the new intelligent Sun Rays filter, LUT support, and real-time noise removal. With workspaces that match different styles of editing, Luminar adapts to deliver a complete experience that avoids clutter and complexity.
Luminar 2018 has been re-built from the ground up for dramatic performance boosts. Existing filters deliver richer colors and depth in less time. A brand new streamlined user interface speeds up working with presets, filters, and masks. With full support of pro options like layers, masks, and blending modes, complex repairs and photo composites can be easily accomplished.
Luminar 2018 is available now for pre-order on November 1, and released on November 16 2018. Pre-Order HERE.
Departing for Antarctica White Nature Expedition 2017
Time has quickly evaporated since my return from Greenland (Read the Trip Report) and in just a few minutes (as soon as I finish this post) I am heading to the airport to start the long trip to Santiago in Chile and then on down to Puerto Williams at the bottom of South America. From there it will be a two day sail across the Drake Passage to Antarctica.
I have been looking forward to this expedition for a long time now. As a full charter that is totally dedicated to photography we have a lot of flexibility to operate in the best light of the day and to explore where we choose. Being the first expedition of the season means we should also encounter really fantastic ice and snow conditions on the Peninsula. If you follow my blog then you know that I wrote a series of lengthy articles on How to Choose a Photographic Expedition to Antarctica over the past months. Everything about this expedition has been designed with the photographer in mind first and foremost.
As is custom I like to do a post of what equipment I am taking with me on an expedition. After much soul searching, and a lot of back and forth I have decided not to take my underwater housing and pole-cam system with me on this expedition. Simply put, I don’t feel I have enough experience with the underwater system as yet to maximise any opportunities that might present themselves. Antarctica is a difficult place to operate and photograph and trying to work with equipment with which you are unfamiliar is at best problematic and at worst a complete waste of time. It would inevitably result in other missed opportunities. Underwater work in Antarctica is simply going to have to wait until such time as I have become more familiar with the housing controls and the nuances of working underwater. Without the burden of the underwater housing I can focus on terrestrial work and bring a good range of equipment to work with.
Lightroom Roller Camera bag (Carry on Luggage)
– 2 x Canon EOS 1DX MKII bodies
– 1 x Canon 11-24mm F4L Lens
– 1 x Canon 24-70mm F4L IS Lens
– 1 x Canon 100-400mm F4.5-5.6L MKII IS Lens
– 1 x Canon 85mm F1.2L MKII
– 1 x Canon 300mm F2.8L MKII IS Lens
– 1 x Sigma 15mm Fish Eye Lens
– 1 x Canon 1.4 XTC MKIII
– 1 x Canon 12X TC MKIII
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Gura Gear Chobe (Carry on Luggage)
– 1 x Apple MacBook Pro 15″ Retina (I never did get around to upgrading to the new 13″ model)
– 1 x Apple laptop charger
– 2 x USB 3 2TB external portable Sandisk SSD Drives
– 1 x Thunderbolt CFast card reader and CF card Reader
– 1 x Sunglasses and sunglasses case
– 1 x Leica Ultra-vid 10×42 HD Binoculars
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Etcetera Case #1 (Inside Chobe)
– 1 x Canon 1-Series camera charger
– 2 x Power Adapters for on board ship
– 2 x Canon 1DX spare Batteries
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Etcetera Case #2 (Inside North Face Duffle)
– 1 x Arctic Butterfly Sensor Cleaner
– 1 x Filter Wrench
– 1 x Zeiss Cleaning Fluid and Lens Cleaning Tissue
– 1 x Micro Fibre Lens Cloth
– 1 x Rocket Blower with Hepa-Filter
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I blogged some time ago that I had been toying with the idea of adding the new Canon 100-400mm MKII lens to my arsenal (as a replacement for the 70-200mm), and finally decided to do so (I used it on my recent Greenland expeditions with great success). The new Canon 100-400mm MKII lens is a really superb optical package at an incredibly attractive price. When you consider the much more expensive and much heavier 200-400mm F4L IS Lens is more than six times the price for very little increase in resolution (although it is faster and has an inbuilt teleconverter) it makes the new 100-400mm MKII a veritable bargain. If you need a flexible and versatile telephoto lens on a budget its really hard to go past this new lens.
See you in Antarctica!
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